


Nemesis

by darkforest



Category: Miss Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Drugs, F/F, Gen, Kidnapping, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:47:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25084132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkforest/pseuds/darkforest
Summary: Sherlock didn’t expect that her addiction to chocolate could be what leads to her downfall.
Relationships: Sherlock | Futaba Sara Shelly/Tachibana Wato
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Nemesis

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written fiction before, as I'm sure you'll be able to tell lol (in other words, please lower your expectations). I just love these characters and want to keep them alive in some way.

It was a rainy day outside 221B. Sherlock was inside, deep into research on her computer for a new case. One that a friend of one of Mrs. Hatano’s friends had brought her. It seems that this woman’s husband would disappear for hours each night after they went to bed. At first, the woman suspected that her husband was having an affair. Yet, she eliminated that possibility after sneaking a peak at her husband one time when he came in at 3am. He was dirty, he smelled like he had been in a garden or field. No woman would have an affair with a man looking and smelling like that. She also thought she saw blood on his shoes one night. The woman tasked Sherlock with finding out what her husband was up to.

Sherlock didn’t have Wato to help her with this case. After Sherlock came back from the dead and revealed herself to Wato, Wato was initially shocked but happy, ecstatic even. Then this devolved into passive-aggressive arguments, revealing that she’s actually rather angry that Sherlock left her to grieve so long without telling her she was alive.

Not to mention the fact that Sherlock tried to walk back her whole friendship spiel on the roof of the Reichenbach. She had told Wato that she only admitted to being friends to try and break Moriwaki’s hold on her mind. That she had read about how to do it in “The Theory of Leading Crime”. Sherlock knew she had to tug at Wato’s heartstrings, and bring her emotion to the surface in order to break Moriwaki’s influence. Sherlock knew that saying they were friends after denying it for so long would be her best chance. This admission made Wato especially angry, though Sherlock was clueless as to why.

So, when Wato’s father called and told her about her Mother’s illness, Wato jumped at the chance to get out of Tokyo for a bit, with her Mother’s illness as a perfect excuse. Even if it meant having to spend time with her parents, with whom she has a contentious relationship, to say the least. Even if it’s really only to dole out some punishment to Sherlock. This time, it’s Wato who will leave. She’ll come back once her Mother is better, but she won’t tell that to Sherlock, just yet anyway. Sherlock needs to suffer a bit without her, to know what it’s like to be without her and not know if or when she’s coming back. It’s certainly not the same as thinking someone is dead, but it will have to be revenge enough for Wato.

Sherlock is working on her computer, researching the case, when a need for chocolate hits her. Only, she can’t find any. Not a single piece. She knows that she just bought some recently and Wato had left her some before she went to Sapporo. It’s here… somewhere. After an hour of looking, nothing. Odd. Sherlock decides she needs chocolate NOW. She grabs her coat and phone and heads out the door to go to the convenience store around the corner. It’s evening, just getting dark and a bit misty after a heavy downpour.

When she closes the door to 221B and walks a few meters on the street, she hears footsteps quickly approaching. With no time to react, she's grabbed by someone from behind and feels a sharp jab in her neck. She struggles with all her might to get free… but everything goes dark.

Sherlock wakes up in a dark room. Confused, with a massive headache and nausea, she has no idea where she is or what time it is. She can't move, she's tied with what feels like plastic ties around her wrists and ankles and they are attached to something... a pipe, she thinks. The ground is cold, feels like she’s sitting on cement. She can't see. Then she hears footsteps, the door opens and blinding fluorescent lights are clicked on. It takes a few seconds for her eyes to adjust.

 _She_ walks in.

Moriwaki. Moriwaki with an evil smile. Walks right up to Sherlock who is tied up in the corner, leans down and touches her face. Sherlock can't slap away her hand this time, her hands are literally tied. Moriwaki’s hands are cold, sickeningly cold. It turns Sherlock’s stomach to be touched by her.

“Sherlock, it’s wonderful to see you again. Are you happy to see me?” she says with a sadistic grin.

Sherlock tries to look away, but Moriwaki puts her hands on her face and turns her head to force Sherlock to meet her gaze.

“How?” Sherlock blurts out.

“How? You mean how did I escape from prison? It was easier than I thought. People who work late at night in a prison, well… I found that they are far more receptive to, shall we say, the power of suggestion than others. It didn’t take much. In fact, thanks to my time in prison, I have new disciples and new plans already in motion. World changing plans, bigger than before.”

Morwaki gets up and starts to pace around the room, glancing at Sherlock as she walks in circles.

“You and I though, we have unfinished business. Business that must be taken care of before I can start my work again. You’ve become my nemesis, you know. The police, I can handle… but you… you are probably the only person who could derail my plans. As much as I like playing with you Sherlock… I couldn’t let you get in my way again. You had to be neutralized.”

“By the way, do you know what Wato’s favorite subject was during our sessions? Not Syria, or her family or her job or friends or anything else… it was you. She couldn’t stop talking about you. Funny, isn’t it? She talked in detail about cases, all of your methods and deductions, your habits and eccentricities. How you annoyed her sometimes. Your childish personality and antisocial antics. Your addiction to chocolate. Thanks to Wato… I know your weaknesses, all of them. I know what makes you tick. I think I know you better than you know yourself.”

“This makes it so much easier for me to beat you, to exact my revenge. It’s almost too easy really. I regret that there wasn’t more challenge to kidnapping you. Breaking in to your home and getting rid of the chocolate was so obvious, I didn’t think it would work, yet, it did. You are so predictable Sherlock. Tsk, tsk.”

After glancing at her watch for a few seconds, Moriwaki stops to glare at Sherlock again… “You will be exposed to the world for the fraud that you are. So arrogant, so rude, so selfish. Up on the Reichenbach Building, you thought you won by taking me over the edge with you. I’m here to show you that you were wrong, _dead_ wrong. You haven’t beaten me and you never will. I’ve won.”

Moriwaki walks over to look Sherlock in the eye once again. “I’m the one who will be remembered. You… you will go down in history as a criminal, a murderer, a psycho. I’ll make sure of it.”

Moriwaki resumes pacing, “By the way, does Wato know about your past? Actually, I’m sure she doesn’t. She never mentioned anything about it in our sessions. What would she think… if she knew the real you? You think she would stay with you?”

Moriwaki laughs while staring at the ceiling, “My very first friend… I wouldn’t mind being shot by you.”

“That look in your eye, that didn’t look like just friendship to me. But then again, you have no idea what that means or looks like anyway. You’re so clueless when it comes to any kind of emotion. You know, it’s really you who needed my counseling services, not Wato. Time would heal her wounds, but you, you need serious psychiatric help.”

Sherlock can’t help but smile and laugh at this and Moriwaki briefly stops to glare at her again before continuing.

“I’d be doing Wato a favor by getting rid of you, don’t you agree? By the way, where is she? I had my man watching you for over a week and he didn’t see her once. She left you, didn’t she? Got tired of you? Wasn’t happy about you faking your death? Good for her. She’ll be better off away from you. Don’t worry Sherlock, I have no interest in Wato anymore. You’ve put her through enough. Even I’m not that cruel. My focus is all on you now.”

Sherlock is seething, but she can’t show Moriwaki, can’t let on that Wato will be coming back and that she actually does care what happens to her. Wato would become a target for her once again. Sherlock can’t… won’t… let that happen again.

The man, who presumably grabbed Sherlock outside of 221B, knocks on the door and enters, whispering something in Moriwaki’s ear. She leaves after saying “I’ll be back later Sherlock, we’ll talk more then.”

The man leans over Sherlock and jabs her with a needle, as she’s passing out, she can hear a laughing Moriwaki say slowly as she walks down the hall, “Nighty-night Sher-lock.”

Sherlock awakens in the dark room again, head pounding. Sherlock knows she must escape from this room and stop Moriwaki at any cost. She’s memorized the layout of this room while the lights were on. Moriwaki is smart to keep the lights off for Sherlock. Sherlock will need time to find a way out, a weakness. But Moriwaki has anticipated what Sherlock will do. She knows too much about Sherlock now, thanks to Wato. If she was handcuffed or shackled, she could get out of them easily, but instead Moriwaki has used plastic ties. Moriwaki surely knows about Sherlock’s lockpicking skills.

How would she get out of this room, out of Moriwaki's claws and stop whatever her plans were?

Sherlock knows one thing... Moriwaki will be harder to stop the second time.

Suddenly Sherlock remembers… she had been working on integrating GPS into some jewelry for Wato. So that she could track Wato’s whereabouts in case she disappeared again. GPS saved her once, and might again. Sherlock had been wearing an earring with a GPS chip attached that she had been working on to test them out. She still had it on when she left the house that night they grabbed her, she’s sure of it. She was going to ping the GPS at the convenience store to check if it worked.

Sherlock leans her head down to where her tied up hands can reach hear ear and feels for the earring. It’s not there. Damn. Moriwaki must have removed it. Or maybe it fell off while she was being transported here, left in whatever vehicle they used. The earring was having trouble staying on when she was testing it. If so, then maybe there’s a chance her whereabouts can be traced with it. Maybe.

There are two problems with this scenario. First, has anyone noticed Sherlock is gone? Eventually they will for sure, but Wato is in Sapporo dealing with her Mother. Kento is in England on business, he’s not supposed to be back for several weeks. Mrs. Hatano had gone off on an onsen trip with her friends. Nobody is home. Nobody is there to notice that she never came home from the convenience store that night. They’ll notice Sherlock hasn’t been answering calls or texts though, eventually. This is where Sherlock starts to regret not keeping in touch with people like a normal person does. People have come to expect Sherlock not to be responsive, even to flat-out ignore calls and texts, unless she feels like responding. She knows how she can go for days without talking to… anyone really. Especially if she’s home alone like she’s been lately. This is why she suspects no one will realize she’s gone for at least another day or two or more. Damn.

Problem number two… she never told anyone but Wato about the GPS jewelry she was making. Will Wato even think to check the GPS when she comes back? Will she know how? She needs the GPS details. Could she find it in Sherlock’s mess? Seems like a longshot. She certainly can’t count on this leading to her rescue.

Sherlock has to find a way out of this mess herself.

Sherlock decides her best bet is to befriend Moriwaki's assistant. If Moriwaki can hypnotize people... then surely Sherlock can too. After all, Sherlock has read the "Theory of Leading Crime" several times, and knows how it works. She'll make Moriwaki regret having met her no matter what. At least Wato is safe... for now.

The room is bare, literally nothing but a pipe coming out of a wall which she’s attached to with the plastic ties, a tiny air vent in the far corner and the light fixture on the ceiling with the switch for it on the wall near the door. No other doors, no windows, nothing. Not much to work with. There's no way out from this room other than through the door. She has to focus on getting her wrists and ankles free and getting out through that door. It's the only way. But Moriwaki's assistant keeps injecting her with a steady stream of something, some kind of drug that knocks her out for what seems like hours at a time. A tranquilizer probably. Due to this injection, Sherlock realizes she’s already lost track of time. She could have been unconscious for hours, or she could have been here for days already.

Moriwaki went somewhere, she can hear the faint sound of a car motor driving away. She can work on the assistant now. Talk to him, get him to talk. Anything. Who is he? Why is he here? Why is he helping Moriwaki keep someone against their will? Sherlock makes no headway, the person never talks, barely looks at her. The man has brought her food, some rice and a carton of soy milk. Takes her to the bathroom down the hall when she asks. The bathroom might be useful at some point, but the window is blocked up from the outside. It only has a toilet and sink. As the assistant leans over to put the food down, she can see he has the needle with whatever he is supposed to inject her with in his shirt pocket. She pretends to struggle with opening the carton of milk and asks him for help. When he leans down, Sherlock uses all of her strength to get his head between her arms and legs and puts a chokehold on the man. She puts everything she has into it, and he passes out eventually. She searches his pockets for something sharp. Yes! She finds a pocket knife she can use to cut the plastic ties that are keeping her attached to this pipe. She gets free and runs out of the room. She's dizzy and can barely stand though, the effects of the drugs she supposes. She makes her way down a hall to where she can see some light. She can see trees all around through the few windows. It's a small house out in the forest somewhere. As she heads for the front door, footsteps come running up behind her. She feels an arm around her neck and a jab in the neck. Everything goes dark again.

Sherlock wakes up again in the room, Moriwaki is standing over her. “Oh Sherlock… did you really think you could escape? You underestimate me, I’m surprised. But you’ll learn soon enough.”

“What is it that you want from me? Why are you doing this?” an exasperated and weak Sherlock asks.

“I'm glad you asked me finally, why we're really here. While I do enjoy watching you suffer, that’s not the only reason why you’re here.”

“I needed you out of my way… but I also want you to admit that you were wrong about the Theory of Leading Crime.”

Sherlock rolls her eyes and matter-of-factly states… “Fine, I was wrong. Now let me go.”

Moriwaki laughs… “Naturally, it's not that simple Sherlock. I want you to write a thesis explaining why it's a valid and brilliant theory and I want it published for all the world to see, by your alma mater. You can make that happen, right?”

Sherlock looks at Moriwaki with disdain… “And after that? You'll kill me, right? Now it's you who thinks I'm stupid. I'm not playing your game.”

“No? You think I’m joking? You know… I think it’s time for some good old-fashioned torture, how about you? I was hoping this wouldn’t be necessary, but now I’m quite giddy I get to watch you suffer.”

“It's time...” Moriwaki glances to her assistant. “Take her to the other room.”

In another room down the hall, the assistant straps Sherlock’s arms to a chair. It almost looks like an electric chair. Sherlock assumes she’s going to be electrically shocked like Wato was. Sherlock laughs to herself at the irony of it all. To Sherlock's surprise, the two leave the room. Just what kind of torture is this? Moments later, it begins. Quite possibly the loudest noise she's ever heard. Heavy metal music, rap music, techno music, sirens, high pitched whines, alarms, beeping, babies crying, sometimes all at once. Sherlock's arms are tied to the chair so she can't hold her palms over her ears like she usually would. She has to endure it. It's pure hell. To Sherlock, its worse than any kind of physical torture. Suddenly, Sherlock wishes to be electrically shocked instead, she could handle that, she thinks. Her ears start ringing very loudly, her head is pounding. Her heart is pounding. She hyperventilates. She feels nauseous. So desperate for any bit of relief from the noise, Sherlock tries to amass all of her strength to her arms to free them from the straps. It only serves to make them bleed when the edges of the straps cut deep into her arms as she struggles.

Once again, she wakes up in the dark room. She surmises that she must have passed out at some point. She feels terrible. She has the worst headache she's ever had, so she's thankful the room is dark. Her ears are ringing so loudly, it might just drive her insane. She's sure this has damaged her hearing. If Moriwaki wanted to torture her, she certainly found what works. Sherlock admits to herself that she underestimated Moriwaki. She knows too much about her from Wato's sessions and from who knows what else. She knows Sherlock's weaknesses, of which there are many, though she hides them well. Sherlock doesn't know if she'd survive another round of the noise in that room.

Wato is in her family’s kitchen making food when she realizes Sherlock hasn’t responded to her last text yesterday morning. She grabs her phone from her pocket and sends another text.

HEY

YOU THERE?

She puts her phone back into her pocket and continues with chopping vegetables. An hour later, she realizes she hasn’t received a text back. Maybe Sherlock is on a case, maybe she lost her phone, maybe the battery is drained, maybe the phone fell into the crevices of the couch, maybe she’s ignoring me on purpose… Wato thinks to herself.

She can’t call Mrs. Hatano, she’s still off with her friends on an onsen trip. Kento is in London on business, but surely, he’s heard from her. The time difference means it’s the middle of the night in London, so she doesn’t want to disturb him and get him worried about something when he’s half the world away. Reimon is on leave to be with his pregnant wife. This leaves Shibata. Wato scrolls through her contacts and finds Shibata’s number. No answer, she decides to send a quick text.

HEY HAVE YOU HEARD FROM SHERLOCK?

Within minutes she receives a response.

NO NOT RECENTLY

WHY

IS SOMETHING WRONG?

Wato quickly types a response.

SHE’S NOT RESPONDING TO MY TEXTS

Shibata responds…

IS THAT UNUSUAL? YOU KNOW HOW SHE IS LOL

Wato is not amused… she responds again.

ITS BEEN LONGER THAN USUAL SHIBATA

CAN YOU CHECK ON HER? PLEASE?

Shibata: BUSY RIGHT NOW BUT WILL TRY TO DROP BY LATER

Wato: OK THANKS

Wato feels better knowing that Shibata will check on Sherlock… but she’s starting to get worried. Very worried. Wato goes on about her day, but keeps checking her phone every few minutes for any messages.

Later that evening while watching TV with her parents, Wato is overcome by a sinking feeling. She keeps texting and calling Sherlock, but she’s heard nothing back.

Now it’s time to call Kento. Kento picks up after one ring.

“Wato, how are things in Sapporo! It’s good to hear from you.”

“Oh fine, my Mother is recovering well. I should be able to come back to Tokyo in a few days. Um…”

Kento can hear the worry in her voice. “Is something wrong?”

“Sherlock hasn’t been responding to my texts, she doesn’t pick up the phone either. Kento, it’s been about two days since I’ve heard from her.”

“I haven’t heard from her either though keep in mind that she sometimes gets lost in cases, you know that Wato. We can go for days without hearing from her when she’s like that. I’m sure she’s fine.”

Sounding like she’s on the verge of tears... Wato continues… “It feels different this time Kento… I can’t shake this terrible feeling that something is wrong.”

“I don’t want you to worry like this, so let me call Mr. Takayuki, the neighbor, and have him check on her. I’ll call you when I’ve heard back from him.”

Wato feels some sense of relief now… Kento is on it. If anyone can find Sherlock, it’s him. Waiting for Kento to call, Wato is watching TV with her Mother. She’s trembling a little and can’t focus on the TV show. Then what seems like an eternity later, but was only a little over an hour, her phone rings.

“Mr. Takayuki says there’s no one home. I told him to check every room. He hasn’t seen Sherlock in a few days, the last time was when she was in the backyard watering Mrs. Hatano’s plants. He did say that for the last couple nights, the lights seem to have been on all night and they were all still on when he checked the house.”

“Sherlock leaving lights on all day and all night is not that unusual, but I’m still worried.” Wato says… signs of panic in her voice. “Where could she have gone? Something is wrong Kento, I can feel it.”

“I know, I know… I already have someone trying to ping her phone to see where it’s at. I should hear back from them soon and will call you back.”

Wato is shaking now. She can’t lose Sherlock again. She tries to act normal around her Mother, she doesn’t want her to know how much she cares about this person she works and lives with. Her Mother might jump to conclusions and she wants to avoid being interrogated by her about it. Wato finds a book from the bookshelf and pretends to read it so as not to arouse suspicion.

Kento calls back. “Her phone is off… or the battery was taken out. No signal for the past 2 1/2 days. No way to trace it. Last known whereabouts was close to 221B, then nothing afterwards.”

Silence.

“Is… is Moriwaki still in prison?” Wato says with a weak voice.

“Yes, last I checked. I’ll check again. I have another call but will keep you updated Wato. Please don’t be too worried… we will find her.”

Shibata arrives at 221B just as Mr. Takayuki is leaving. He asks if he can go in and see if anything is amiss. Mr. Takayuki obliges.

Shibata walks through the house to Sherlock’s apartment and opens the door. The lights are on… during the day. All of the lights. Weird. He looks around to see if there are any clues. He notices the computer is sleeping. That means it hasn’t been turned off since it was last used. He sits in Sherlock’s chair and moves the mouse. The screen lights up. The last time Sherlock used her computer, she was researching a string of late-night cat killings in a nearby neighborhood. She was reading local newspaper articles about the incidents. Shibata assumes this is for a case. In another browser window, Sherlock was browsing an online store for fancy imported chocolates, no surprise there. Shibata needs to check to see the last time Sherlock used the computer. He opens the browser history. The last time Sherlock used the browser was nearly 3 days ago. Shibata knows now.

Sherlock is missing.

After Shibata calls Wato to tell her what he found, Wato decides she needs to get back to Tokyo now… not in a few days. She tells her Mother that a friend in Tokyo is in trouble and she needs to leave on the first plane out of Sapporo in the morning. Her Mother is upset, but she can see determination in Wato’s eyes. Whatever is going on back in Tokyo seems to be much more important than her. Wato’s mother has been feeling better each day but Wato makes arrangements for a neighbor to come and check on her during the day, just in case.

Wato hastily packs her things and heads to bed, where she lies awake all night going over every worst-case scenario of what could be happening to Sherlock. As soon as she is starting to fall asleep, her phone buzzes with a text from Kento.

I JUST HEARD

I’M MAKING ARRANGEMENTS TO COME BACK ON THE FIRST FLIGHT OUT THIS EVENING

Good, Wato thinks. The more people looking for Sherlock, the better.

Wato arrives at 221B in the late morning. No one is around, she lets herself in. Wato wonders if she should call Mrs. Hatano. Or maybe it’s better not to, she will surely come back from her trip right away. There’s nothing she can do anyway. Wato decides against it. No need to worry Mrs. Hatano just yet.

Wato leaves her bags at the door and walks into the living room. She carefully looks around, inspecting every inch to try to find any clue as to what happened to Sherlock. She notices there are no chocolate wrappers anywhere. When Sherlock is working on a case, she always has some chocolates around, they help her think. Wato checks the trash. The trash is full of the remnants of takeout and food deliveries, but not a single chocolate wrapper. Strange.

Wato’s phone buzzes with a text message. It’s Kento.

WATO, YOU BETTER SIT DOWN

APPARENTLY MORIWAKI ESCAPED FROM PRISON OVER A WEEK AGO

SHE TRADED PLACES WITH A NIGHT GUARD AND NO ONE NOTICED

I’VE BEEN ASSURED THAT HEADS WILL ROLL FOR THIS BUT THE DAMAGE IS DONE

I HESITATE TO ASSUME ANYTHING BUT… THAT WOMAN IS INSANE

Wato is shocked, numb. That woman is out of prison, and has been roaming around for a week. Wato can only assume this is no coincidence and that Moriwaki must have Sherlock somewhere, doing God knows what to her.

Wato is pacing the room now.

“Think Wato, THINK!”, she says to herself.

“What would Sherlock do?”

She would observe and use her deductive reasoning to figure this out.

Wato decides she needs to take a better look around the house. She goes up to Sherlock’s room and opens the door. Nothing strikes her as unusual at first glance. Clothes piled everywhere, socks on the floor. Dresser, armoire, nightstand… all a mess, but typical Sherlock. She decides she needs to invade Sherlock’s privacy and go through her drawers. Finds nothing unusual, except some um… interesting toys.

She moves on to the bathroom. Used towels on the floor. Makeup and hair products strewn about the counter. Nothing unusual.

She goes back to the living room and kitchen area. The kitchen isn’t messy, but that’s because Sherlock hasn’t bothered to make her own food lately, she just orders food to be delivered. Only the coffee accessories are left on the counter for making Sherlock’s morning coffee.

She moves on to the tables where Sherlock makes her essential oil formulas, cucumber toner and works on experiments. It’s a mess. Sherlock hasn’t started any new experiments since she’s been gone, Wato can tell, otherwise there would be more chemicals and beakers out.

Wato sees the set of GPS patches, glances over it a bit then her phone buzzes with a text from Kento.

I’M AT HEATHROW WAITING FOR MY PLANE

WILL BE THERE TOMORROW AFTERNOON

Wato responds.

I MADE IT TO 221B ABOUT AN HOUR AGO, HAVING A LOOK AROUND

Kento responds.

DON’T DO ANYTHING UNTIL I GET THERE WATO, WE DON’T NEED YOU TO GO MISSING AS WELL

DON’T WORRY I WON’T, Wato responds.

Wato is exploring the backyard when it comes to her. The GPS. Wato walks back inside and over to Sherlock’s experiments table. She sifts through the box of GPS patches and sees that two are missing. She recalls that Sherlock had used one on her during the Lily of the Valley case. It did indeed save her life, but Wato won’t admit that to Sherlock, Wato doesn’t want to be tracked all the time by Sherlock. Though she realizes it would bring Sherlock some peace of mind, Wato’s privacy is also important.

She picks up the packet of patches and sees that the second one missing would fit nicely on an earring, and Sherlock had recently said she was making her some jewelry with GPS chips. Maybe, just maybe, Sherlock had the missing one on her. Unlikely, Wato thinks, but certainly worth a try.

She notes the GPS ID and texts it to Shibata. Shibata responds right away saying he will do his best to check it out for her. Wato waits.

Shibata has contacted Reimon about how to track the GPS that Wato thinks might be on Sherlock. When Reimon learns Sherlock is missing and Moriwaki escaped, Reimon insists on helping. His wife’s parents are visiting anyway, so his pregnant wife won’t mind him being away for a bit. Sherlock is a valuable asset to him, he doesn’t want to lose her, as a consultant, but also as a friend. She’s helped him solve many cases which might never have been solved or would have taken much longer to solve. This not only saves the department money, but also time and even lives. Not that it matters, but Reimon also doesn’t mind that he gets a lot of the credit for solving these cases. Yes, he needs Sherlock.

Reimon gets the tracker ID from Shibata and calls his contact at the department to begin the process of tracing its whereabouts.

After a couple hours, Reimon receives coordinates to his phone. His contact notes that the tracker has not moved much for the past couple days but the signal is getting weaker.

Interesting, Reimon thinks, this really could be where Sherlock is. It has to be checked out.

Reimon heads for his car and enters the coordinates into his car’s GPS. The map comes up… it’s somewhere on the south side of Lake Kawaguchi, looks like a rural, heavily forested area a few hours from Tokyo. The perfect place if you don’t want to be disturbed by other people. Reimon calls Shibata and gives him the coordinates, tells him to meet him close by, so they can decide the best way to approach first. Shibata confirms.

Shibata calls Wato to tell her what’s happening. Wato freaks out and insists on going with him. Shibata tries to refuse but ends up giving in. He heads over to 221B and picks up Wato, who is already standing outside the door, ready to jump in the car. They speed away and head for Lake Kawaguchi almost 3 hours away from Tokyo.

After a couple hours, Reimon texts Shibata that he’s already there. The GPS coordinates lead to a small house at the end of a street, but up on a hill, hidden by the forest. Reimon says he will try to find out more with his drone while he waits for them to arrive.

Reimon gets out of his car and opens his trunk, getting the black hardshell case out and opening it. He quickly sets up his drone and gets it ready to fly. By this time, it’s late afternoon. Kento should be on his way from London. Shibata and Wato should be 20 minutes or so away. Reimon hopes that they can approach the house as soon as Shibata joins him.

Inside the house, Moriwaki is trying to wake Sherlock up so she can force her to start writing the thesis. Moriwaki is angry with her assistant. Sherlock is not waking up, even after a couple very hard slaps to the face.

“How much did you give her?!?!” she screams.

The man is clearly shaken and responds... “Doctor, you said to keep her quiet. But she wouldn’t stop trying to talk to me. I only gave her a little more than you said.”

Moriwaki is fuming now… “You incompetent fool! You may have killed her; she’s barely breathing. I didn’t want her to die just yet!”

The man answers… glaring out the side window… “Doctor, I think we have more problems than that. There seems to be a car parked at the end of the driveway.”

“A car?” Moriwaki wonders… there’s no way anyone could know where they are. No way to trace Sherlock. They got rid of her phone immediately after grabbing her from 221B. It’s in the river. How else could they find us?

“Where’s the binoculars?!” she yells, rushing to the edge of the window. “Where! Where is the car you are talking about, I don’t see anything!”

“Doctor, I saw it at the end of the driveway, a black car. A man with short, curly hair and glasses got out and was looking for something in his trunk.”

“Short, curly hair? Glasses?”

After a minute of silence… Moriwaki says “We have to go… NOW… gather everything and put it in the car, we will head out the back way through the forest. But first, go out to the car and get the gas can out of the trunk.”

“Doctor, what do you want to do with… her?”

“Just do what I said! I’m thinking!” Moriwaki is in a panic, she takes off her glasses and rubs her forehead.

The assistant brings the gas can in to the house and sets it on a table, a worried look on his face.

Still staring out the window, Moriwaki calmly says “We have to burn it down.”

Wato and Shibata meet Reimon at the end of the street. They can see the house, but just barely. Reimon’s drone didn’t help much, the trees were just too thick and tall. He did notice with the drone that there was one car at the house. So, someone is there, they have to be careful.

Wato assures them both that she will stay in the car no matter what. She doesn’t want to get in their way.

Shibata and Reimon decide it’s best for them to approach by car, as the driveway is just too steep and overgrown. They will need some kind of cover. As they are deciding on exactly how they will approach the house’s front door, they smell smoke.

The house is on fire.

They quickly pile in the car and head up the driveway. The car that was there, is now gone. Shibata and Reimon get out of the car and quickly begin trying to break down the front door. Wato gets out to watch but stays close to the car. They break down the door after a few tries. Shibata puts a handkerchief over his face and rushes in to search the house for any people. Reimon heads around the back to see if there’s another way in. The smoke and heat are starting to get overwhelming, there’s not much time before the entire house goes up in flames.

Shibata sees a door down a hallway, it’s just a bathroom. He sees another door, it’s locked. Shibata breaks it down by kicking it hard several times and it opens. The room is dark. He turns on his flashlight and checks the room. There, in the corner, through the smoke, he sees a person tied up to a pipe. They aren’t conscious. Shibata quickly cuts the person loose and picks the person up in his arms. He makes his way through the house as quickly as possible; dodging flames and stepping over some burning remnants of the ceiling. He can hear distant sirens.

He walks out the front door with Sherlock in his arms. Wato muffles a scream. She’s terrified by what she sees.

Sherlock looks dead. Her head and limbs are all hanging off of Shibata as he walks, like a rag doll, just bouncing with every step he takes, lifeless. Wato thinks she’s dead.

Wato runs over to them and moves the hair that is hanging in front of Sherlock’s face. Her face is pale on one side, bright red on the other.

Shibata puts Sherlock in the back of the car, and Wato hops in next to her. Wato’s medical experience kicks in.

She gets a pen light out of her bag and looks at Sherlock’s eyes. She checks her pulse and breathing.

“She’s breathing, but just barely! Pulse is weak.” Wato frantically screams. “She needs oxygen now! We have to hurry to the closest hospital! Hang on Sherlock, hang on!!!”

Shibata is speeding to the nearest hospital.

In the back of the car, Wato notices Sherlock’s shirt sleeves are bloody. She pulls up the sleeves and sees deep cuts which look infected. She checks for other injuries, sees numerous needle marks on her neck and arms. “It’s not just smoke inhalation Shibata, she’s been drugged.”

Shibata is breathing heavily and coughing, he’s suffering from smoke inhalation too.

Wato is cradling Sherlock’s head in her arms, carefully monitoring her breathing. She notices that its shallow. Her pulse is slowing down. Could be from the smoke inhalation or from the drugs, or worse, both. Wato knows that Sherlock’s life might be hanging by a thread. Wato puts her head down and whispers into Sherlock’s ear… “Don’t you dare leave me now, don’t you dare. I’ll never forgive you.”

They arrive at the hospital and Wato tells the ER attendants exactly what needs to be done. Her time as a doctor is paying off at least. They take Sherlock in to work on her. The doctors push Wato out into the hall to wait. Shibata joins her, but he starts coughing. She decides he needs to get checked out too and helps him get admitted. Reimon arrives soon after and they wait in a small waiting area for news on Sherlock.

Wato’s phone buzzes with a text. It’s Kento, he’s arrived and is making his way to 221B. He doesn’t know what’s going on yet since he’s been on a plane for the past 13 hours. Wato fills him in and texts him the address of the hospital. Mrs. Hatano too, she deserves to know what’s going on.

Over an hour later, a doctor comes out to update Wato.

Smoke inhalation. Multiple drug intoxication. Lacerations. Infection. Bruising.

The doctor says they have treated her as best they can, now they just need to wait until she wakes up to see if there’s any brain damage.

Brain… damage… Good thing Wato is sitting down, because she would have fallen right then.

Sherlock has been moved into a room and is on oxygen. Wato and Reimon sit with her. Wato holds Sherlock’s hand for a while. Wato tells Reimon it’s ok for him to go home, she’ll stay with Sherlock until she wakes up. Shibata is in another room, also on oxygen, but he’s going to be ok. They just want to keep him for observation.

Wato is exhausted so she falls asleep with her head on Sherlock’s hand. Kento arrives in the morning and walks into the room. Wato wakes up and updates Kento on Sherlock’s condition.

They’re both very worried about the possibility of brain damage. Sherlock? With brain damage? What would that be like? What would she be like? Would she want to live like that? Wato refuses to consider the possibility and disciplines her mind to think more hopeful thoughts.

Thankfully, this small-town hospital is not strict about letting people stay in a patient’s room all night. So Kento gets a room at a resort hotel near the hospital. He makes sure Wato goes back to the hotel to take a shower while he stays with Sherlock. He also makes sure Wato eats something. She needs her strength as much as Sherlock does. He knows that Wato won’t leave his sister’s side for long though.

That night, Wato stays with Sherlock. Once again, she falls asleep with her head resting on Sherlock’s hand. Wato is awakened in the middle of the night by a nurse checking on Sherlock. The nurse leaves and Wato resumes her previous position at the side of the bed. She studies Sherlock. Still no sign of waking up, and it’s been over a day already. Wato tries to stifle her tears, but they come pouring out anyway. She stands up and leans over Sherlock, whispering in her ear… “You better wake up soon, or I’ll kill you.”

The next day, Reimon is at the hospital bright and early. He helps Shibata check out and helps him get home. Shibata was a bit of a hero after all. He was the one who found Sherlock and carried her out of that burning house. He’s earned a few days off and some rest at home. Reimon comes back to the hospital around lunch to check on Sherlock, Wato and Kento. Mrs. Hatano has also arrived. Everyone is in Sherlock’s room, waiting for her to wake up. Still nothing.

Everyone is trying to keep Wato’s spirits up, they can see she is the one who is most worried. They try to change the subject and broach lighter topics, but Wato’s mind wanders back to Sherlock again and again.

Later in the evening, Kento brings dinner for everyone. They eat quietly in Sherlock’s hospital room with the evening news turned on. Then Kento and Mrs. Hatano head to the hotel to rest, leaving Wato to spend the night in Sherlock’s room again. There’s no tearing her away from Sherlock, they don’t even try.

Wato sleeps with her head resting on Sherlock’s hand again. She thinks this is the best way to rest while still being alerted as soon as Sherlock starts moving or waking. Once again, the night nurse wakes Wato in the middle of the night. She has a hard time sleeping after her visit. So, she stares at Sherlock. Completely still, nothing has changed, no movement yet. What’s taking so long??? Wato gets up and leans over Sherlock. Wato whispers in her ear “You better come back to us… to me.”

Reimon comes to the hospital early the next morning once again. This is impressive to Kento, Wato and Mrs. Hatano, after all, he has to drive from Tokyo both ways. He must really care about Sherlock too. This visit, Reimon brings news about Moriwaki and the man who was helping her. After the fire, Moriwaki and the man managed to get away through a back entrance which was hidden by the thick forest. They had no way of tracing them, they didn’t even have the license plate of the car, just a general description of it from what Reimon saw with his drone. Luckily, they didn’t need that. The man that was with Moriwaki has turned himself into police. Apparently, he thought better of what he was doing, felt guilty. When Moriwaki ordered him to leave Sherlock to burn alive, he knew he had to get away from her and turn himself in. He didn’t join Moriwaki in order to become a murderer for her.

Reimon says he is being interrogated now at headquarters and hopefully they can find out what Moriwaki’s plans are and where she is hiding.

Wato perks up, she thinks it’s only a matter of time before Moriwaki is caught and can be put away forever. After all, she literally left Sherlock to die in that house, she can’t be a free woman again after something like that.

Now if only Sherlock would wake the fuck up…

Wato spends another night in the hospital with Sherlock. Again, she falls asleep with her head on Sherlock’s hand. The night nurse wakes her up in the middle of the night yet again. She has trouble falling asleep yet again. Again, she stares at still, lifeless Sherlock. She gets up and whispers in Sherlock’s ear, “What the hell are you doing? Where are you right now? You have to come back to me, so I can tell you how I feel.”

Wato sits down again and falls asleep with her head using Sherlock’s hand as her pillow. Wato is in the middle of a dream when something jostles her head and she awakens. Wato is groggy, she can’t tell if it was her moving or if Sherlock is finally waking up. She looks up at Sherlock, she’s perfectly still, eyes closed. Wato sighs loudly and rubs her eyes. Then she hears a mumble from beneath the oxygen mask…

“Wato…”

Sherlock’s eyes are closed, but she’s talking! She’s waking up! Wato pushes the button to call the nurse.

Sherlock mumbles again… “Wato… Wato…”

Sherlock’s hand reaches out and Wato grabs it, holding it with her hands. Sherlock opens her eyes at that moment and Wato can see a smile forming beneath the oxygen mask.

She’s ok. She’s going to be ok.

A week later and Sherlock and Wato are back at 221B. Sherlock is still under doctor’s orders to rest for a few more days so Wato is stuck at home too. During this time, Wato starts to notice subtle changes in Sherlock. She seems more humble, even gentle with Wato. She’s smiling and laughing more. Not with other people of course, just when she’s alone with Wato. And Wato definitely notices. Wato notices when Sherlock is pretending to read a book, but is in fact, actually staring at Wato.

Wato starts to wonder if this is because of that last thing she whispered into Sherlock’s ear before she woke up. Did she hear that? She couldn’t have heard that, right??? Wato wonders what’s she’s done. Did she just accidentally confess to Sherlock??? Could this be the reason for the change in behavior towards her? Regardless, Wato thinks it’s nice. Sherlock has become much more pleasant to be around when they are alone. In fact, she looks forward to when they are alone.

Wato did want to tell Sherlock how she felt about her, that she _cared_ , but does that mean she’s in love with Sherlock? Wato isn’t sure. Sherlock must have taken it that way though. Wait, does this mean Sherlock is in love with _her_??? Wato is afraid to ask. She decides to wait for Sherlock to make the first move, if that is indeed what’s going on, and they can figure things out from there.

A few days later… it happens.

Sherlock is working on making some cucumber toner to help heal the scars on her arms. Wato is watching her, wanting to learn the process of making it for herself, when the question comes out of nowhere.

Sherlock asks sheepishly… “Wato, do you want to go on a date with me?”

Wato is taken aback. She doesn’t know what to say. She didn’t expect something so direct.

After some hesitation… she just blurts out, “Ok.”

It just feels right… and so it begins.


End file.
